Naming the style of the pouch. A question for native english speakers.

[ValeryAccessory]

Hi,

I want to ask you a question about naming products in terms of functionality. There is a pouch category I am working now. In that category I have 2 fundamentally different pouches. They are eyeglass/sunglass pouches.

The first style has drawstring to close the pouch. The other one does not have that, it is a classical hand bag, the old style. As far as I get it is flap pouch. I am not sure if I can call it that.

Should I call them flap vs drawstring style? Could you please help me defining the terminology? I uploaded an image and in that there are 2 styles side by side. Is that right? 

https://ibb.co/QY1BdX4

This is also important for the category filter. When I increase the number of pouches, on my official website a visitor can filter based on this terminology. So it is so crucial that it has to be right. Also the naming in terms of tags should be relevant. 

Thanks

[MaynardMillinery]

Whilst your glasses cases are very pretty and obviously painstakingly made, I'm not sure you're going to get many takers for a £140 pouch that offers no protection to the glasses whatsoever. Especially when you get a hardshell case free from the opticians when you buy the glasses. In fact, I spent no where near £140 on my last 2 pairs of glasses combined, the joys of online frame shops, glasses are now a fraction of the price of high Street opticians. 

But they are "Glasses Cases" first and foremost, no matter the closure.

"White Crocheted Glasses Case Drawstring Soft Pouch" 

[ValeryAccessory]

I have looked at the word case and pouch before I opened the category on my shop. So I opened a post here. Case is actually would be kind of wrong. I have written this: On the net from the 'verizon.com' site no name article it is written that case stays on at all times but you have to remove your device ( eyeglass) from the pouch in order to use.

So I am trying to use the term in terms of the functionality that defines the usage more precisely.  However, I may use some skeleton hang bag parts then may be I use case as a terminology in the long run. That is why I named the category cases and pouches. 

Best Regards.

[MaynardMillinery]

You asked for advice from native English speakers. For native English speakers, any small container used to transport/protect reading glasses is called a "glasses case".

Verizon.com? Thats a US cellphone/cable service provider, not sure why/how you're looking at that for advice?

[LastCentury]

I have to agree with @MaynardMillinery 

And I think to prevent abrasion to lenses, there needs to be a softer lining inside. Mercerized cotton isn't the softest material especially if it gets starched.

Can you find a secondary use for these pouches for a broader appeal?

[ValeryAccessory]

@MaynardMillinery 

 I opened a post for the category name here: https://community.etsy.com/t5/Technical-Issues/Choosing-the-right-category/m-p/138462461#M700962

I used site's article as a source for the sake of a semantic logic to understand and ask for it actually. Nothing more. Of course native english speaker's advice is so much important. You are actually searching. Your advice is actually crucial and needed. 

@LastCentury 

We use DMC products and it is soft. And there is not any starched. Many use wood glue especially in jewellery design to make it solid or some use less glue ( mixed with water) to give a little solidity especially for the peter pan style collars. We used to wear them in primary school ( not crocheted just the fabric). We actually thought to use an inset fabric. Though about it. However, we used pouches to clean the glasses. There were not any scratches.  That's why we did not use the inset. We can do that as well it is so easy. After you finish the inset you sew it by hand. It would be more protective against dust. Yess. However,  there are some transparency because of the holes on the body. It is the texture of the body. You see the glass inside the pouch. That look is important. That is why we did not use it.  

[SunnyDayVintage]

One is envelope style, the other is drawstring. 

[booknookcreations]

I would agree that “case” would be most common description for anything holding glasses, then drawstring bag as a description. The word “pouch” while certainly accurate as a description, is just not used by most people regularly. 

[ValeryAccessory]

In terms of the terminology, pouch is better but in spoken language people tent to use case in their searches if you say so. I just wonder as a native english speaker when you imagine a pouch in your brain what kind of an image you see and would you still search for the case even though you see the shape of a pouch in your brain. This is by the way a universal problem. We do not actually know what to search. First we search for what we will search then start the search. However, some consumers may not do these searches I guess. It may be impulsive or random I do not know. Then you are right. I use case may be for the other pouches to have a search variance for the rest of the models. That will increase the chance to be found.

[riverofbeautydesigns]

There is no such thing as a glasses case that stays on at all times. The Verizon writer was smoking something (probably bought on Etsy). 

[SmudgePlant]

I think maybe the device the Verizon article was talking about was a cell phone.

[CatsWhiskersCurios]

I agree that ‘glasses case’ is the correct terminology. But I have to also agree with @MaynardMillinery that they are way over-priced. You get free cases from opticians and pay less for designer cases in TKMaxx. Nobody is going to pay your prices for a case that gives minimal protection.

[ValeryAccessory]

It is not about the protection. It is a luxury product. And the price is so low actually. 15 hours of work on an envelope style case with flowers on the body. 15 hours but takes 2 days. Do you crochet? Over-priced? You should rest your eyes. It hurts the eyes. Try with No:30 thread. Then you will understand how difficult it is. When you buy this you do not look for the protection. May be protection from the dust. I sold 8 models to my Japanese customer actually. Not the envelop style just drawstring with customized tassels. Yes not much but these are new models. My brand is new. I have seen you are selling vintage crochets as well. We are crocheting not reselling. There is a difference. When you work so hard like over 6 months for 20 items and when someone is saying nobody pays the price, it is discouraging. Some customers are paying. 

[onedaysgracenz]

@ValeryAccessory  - it doesn't matter what the correct dictionary or word-legal term for anything is when describing what you are selling here.

What matters is what BUYERS call such a product.

It is the terms BUYERS use that get your products found in a search, both on Etsy and on Google.

The help given to you above is what you need to know to make sales here.

Commonly used keyword terms to describe your products are "glasses case", "reading glasses case" and "sunglasses case". Some secondary keywords might be "glasses pouch", "drawstring pouch" and so on.

I don't think many Etsy buyers are going to be searching for "envelope" when looking to buy such an item. "envelope" is the correct manufacturing term for that type of design, it is not a term buyers use much at all. Include the word "envelope" in your tags and see if it gets any hits, but save valuable keyword space for what buyers are actually using.

This is not a private website - this is a marketplace site. To compete with makers of similar products you have to use words to bring your products into view when buyers are searching. That is, the words BUYERS use, not manufacturers or dictionaries.

You can describe how the case works in the body of your description if the photos aren't clear enough for folk to be able to tell what they are looking at.

You asked for help from native English speakers, and that's what you've been given.

[ValeryAccessory]

Yes. Agreed. It is like an ad bidding for the search term. I will use the most basic. When I layer the terminology bit by bit it becomes complicated. I will try to be simple without being simplistic. I will use the other terminology ( more definite ones ) on my website as an attribute and tag. Thanks. 

[MetroRetroVintage]

I've sold some vintage cases in another shop and often refer to them as 'soft eyeglass case' or 'eyeglass holder'.  I'll also throw in additional keywords such as bifocals and spectacles.  

And agree with putting some kind of liner in the one's shown, or the lenses will get scratched.

[ValeryAccessory]

I actually asked this to one of my customer. He did not want that. I cleaned some eyeglasses with the pouches. Glasses were already clean but I simply used pressure to create scratch but there was not any scratches. I wasn't gentle. In the pouches I do not think there will be more friction than my doing. It is not like microfiber by the way. Microfiber fabric slips on the surface. It is so smooth. We have some eyeglasses and 2 sunglasses. I do not use sunglasses for the photography. One sunglass type has light ping color. I do not know the lenses. I do not think they are top quality. They are just for the references. They are old glasses but still durable. How a glass is resistant to the scratches depends on its poperties I guess. I will talk about this with an optician. May be some lenses gets scratch more easily. Our experiment is not scientific but liner is no problem if it is needed. I can offer with liner and without liner. 

Thanks

[CuriousityShop]

If you say Pouch in the USA, people think of kangaroos, and maybe an old fashioned drawstring bag for tobacco.

[ValeryAccessory]

These members: @MaynardMillinery  @booknookcreations @onedaysgracenz 

simply rest their cases. Kangaroos. That was hilarious. Never thought about it.  Thank you for sharing that. Not in a million years I could think of it. The culture affects the language. The culture I am not familiar with. Read a lot, watched so many movies but this is how it is. Being native is different. Thank you. 

[Adorabilities]

That's what I immediately thought of as well: kangaroos.

@ValeryAccessory 
You have plenty of space in your titles and tags. Why not use both the word that native English speakers use (case) and the one that you want to use (pouch?)

[RusticBucketsSouth]

Sometimes a flap is called an envelope closure.

[onedaysgracenz · Accepted solution]

@ValeryAccessory  it's all relative to what your product group is, and who is in your target market. Difficult to translate those factors into English if its not your first language!

If you make rosaries like I do, then the things they are stored in or presented in are called "pouches".

Unless they are a "rosary box" or a "rosary case" of course. Most often they are "rosary pouches" whether they are drawstring, envelope or have zips to close them.

Your style of (whatever you finally decide to call them) would be perfect for high-end rosary buyers/owners.

If the item to go inside the pouch/case is of high value to the buyer, your prices are not too high at all. I have many customers in my own high-end shop who would find your prices very reasonable to accompany their personally meaningful rosary purchases.

Personally I wouldn't try and sell your pouches here on Etsy without mixing in some other products too, because on this site volume of sales matters a lot as far as being found by Etsy's in-site search system.

The typical Etsy shoppers is not a "high-end value" customer. Sure, some buyers/sellers here are tapped into that top level of buyers, but the majority are aiming at buyers where the price of an item is an important consideration, if not the primary consideration.

While you might get some sales here by people who are purchasing a bag for their glasses, you won't get as many sales as shops selling competing products at a lower price. Therefore your items won't get the better search placement in a generic search for something to keep glasses in.

If i were you, I would create a cheaper product for most buyers here on Etsy to bulk your shop out, and keep your current prices as an "exclusive higher-priced" comparison in your own shop products. Add some pouches that are shorter in length, and just a bit wider so that they are useful for more than just glasses. Give them a separate shop category called "Luxe Pouches" or whatever, and optimize your listings for Google.

That way the lower priced items should sell in greater quantity, which will benefit you in search visibility here. Some buyers who come to look at the lower priced options will purchase the "luxe" item instead. Consider dropping the word "glasses" and "sunglasses" in the title altogether - use it in tags. Your bags are suitable for many other uses.

Google is more likely to send higher-end buyers to your Etsy shop  - especially if you use Etsy Off-Site Ads program. So optimize for Google SEO in your high-end products by using words that mean "quality" in the top of the description - such as luxury, perfection, de-luxe, luxe, handmade one stitch at a time, excellent quality, special occasion, heirloom, a gift that will be welcomed/appreciated/admired ... and so on. Do not use those same words in the more "economical" products listed alongside the luxury pouches.

Competition is high in the lower price ranges in Google searches (and in Etsy searches), so hopefully most sales you make here on Etsy won't be as a result of Etsy off-site Ads (meaning no cost to you), but higher priced products should have enough margin to cope with the 15% Ad fee. Sales of lower-priced items will also subsidize the impact of EOA on the higher-end products.

Etsy is known to have a pretty low average value per sale across the whole site. That's because the majority of buyers here don't spend a lot for the most numerous type of purchases here. To do well establishing your reputation here, you most likely "need" mid-range products in your pouch/case mix to get traction here.

Mid-range product prices here are between $20 and $50 - more towards the $20 end of that scale.

(Bottom range pricing for pouches/cases here starts at .50c (gasp) and of course there is no upper limit at the other end of the scale. MOST of sales here are mid-range.)

[ValeryAccessory]

I remember this movie Kingdom of Heaven. Knight's oat was a good scene. After the oath Liam slapped his son ( he was his son I guess )  and said that's so you remember it. After I have read your advices, I felt that slap o my face :). I cannot thank you enough. This was the most enlightening answer I have ever read since I am here. I will remember this.

I will create rosary pouches as well in the short run probably. Did not decide the size. Created this: https://ibb.co/g7gyy1R  I will show this to my friends and search for it on the web. I decide the shape later. Square seems better alternative. I can even create with zipper versions and insets as well. 

I will also add other functionality other than glasses and sunglasses. Those words kind of limit the usage you are so right. The cases would be also better for some makeup materials, tools.  I have to find other suitable uses for the cases though. 

However, without changing the thread size it is impossible to decrease the price. So may be the No:10 Dmc series decrease the time to crochet. Increasing the thickness of the thread from N:30 to No: 10 will definitely decrease the time if it not half of the time, that would be close half so the cost will be cut.

I have seen like 15$ range eyeglass cases but they are crocheted in half an hour and the shipment is not included. Based on the work, they are actually so expensive. May be I create those series. I also add the products to my pinterest account and monthly views are close to 4.5 k now. Not much but the social accounts and those items towards 20$ may be increase the number of visitors as well. 

Also we wanted to create a stop motion for the products. I created stop motions for many bookmarks for just ETSY. May be I do that too but it is so time consuming. The idea was: the pouch will use its tassels to move to the scene. Like it is swimming. Then the pouch tries to take a glass inside itself with its tassels. That was the idea. If I can find the time I will shot that. It needs like over 200 shots. May be later.

Thank you for your detailed advices and suggestions again.

Best Regards